India NEWS

India's downstream giant IOCL has received clearance from the Ministry of Environment to set up 2G ethanol plant. This Rs 766 crore plant will be set up in Haryana's Panipat district. Union Environment Minister took social media platform to inform that "This project not only promotes use of environment-friendly fuel but also aids in fulfilment of government's goal of doubling farmers' income".

Saudi-India strategic partnership has taken a major leap forward on Wednesday. Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited has signed an agreement with energy supermajor Saudi Aramco to lease part of the 2.5 million-tonne Padur storage in Karnataka. This bilateral deal focuses at building emergency crude reserves against volatility of the market.

If sources were to be believed, oil supermajor Saudi Aramco is interested in acquiring stakes in Indian downstream major, BPCL. In the biggest privatization bid in the Indian history, the Government of India is aiming to farm out its stakes in BPCL to private investors. Sources revealed that the Saudi state-run behemoth is in the process of evaluating its Indian investments and viewing BPCL buy out as a good opportunity.

Total and Reliance Industries might not bid for acquiring India's BPCL. Further, BP wants to explore the offerings before making a decision to decide for bidding. The Indian government has decided to sell 53.29% stakes of oil refining and marketing company BPCL. The firm accounts for 15% of the total installed refining capacity of the nation. Saudi Aramco might alone bid for the stakes or may have another partner, ADNOC.

Energy giant ExxonMobil has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian downstream major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The companies have decided to collaborate in order to expand liquefied natural gas (LNG) initiatives in India. “This initiative focuses on exploring new models of delivering cost-effective natural gas in India where it is most needed to complement traditional pipelines”, said ExxonMobil.

India’s downstream giant, IOCL is developing indigenous metals-based batteries in an attempt to prevent the dependence on lithium imports. Chairman of the state-run behemoth, Sanjiv Singh said that the metal-air batteries will generate energy by the oxidation of metals such as iron, zinc and aluminium. While the batteries are not rechargeable, motorists can swap plates to power them instantaneously, thereby eliminating the requirement for a charging infrastructure

In a major shakeup to the fuel retailing sector, the Government of India has repealed the legislation that had nationalized the downstream major, BPCL. The move will do away with the requirement to look for a Parliamentary nod before selling it off to private and foreign firms. The state is mulling to farm out most of its 53.3% stake in BPCL to a strategic partner, to encourage competition.

India’s biggest oil guzzler, IOCL has built an 850 metres long road by using 16 metric tonnes of single-use plastic waste in bitumen concrete. The downstream major has also called for ‘expression of interest’ from different parties and aggregators to regularly provide commercial amounts of such waste. IOCL officials said that the road was constructed outside the firm’s R&D facility in Faridabad on an experimental basis.

Saudi Arabia is planning to invest $100 billion in India. Considering the growth potential of the country, Saudi Arabia will invest in energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals and mining. For India, Saudi is the source of over 17% of crude and 32% of LPG requirements. "India's invitation to Saudi Arabia to invest in its strategic petroleum reserve reflects the trust and goodwill the two countries share", said Saudi Ambassador.

Leading manufacturer of Casing & Cementing accessories, Crimson Oil Tools has made a successful contract delivery to Europe’s Drillwerk. Crimson had secured the contract in July 2019 for the delivery of Casing & Cementing accessories to be utilized in upstream operations. Mayank Sharma, MD of Crimson Oil Tools, said, “With the delivery of this contract, we build on the continued success to deliver high-quality Casing & Cementing accessories”.

A day after Iranian President Rouhani said about not talking to the US unless sanctions were lifted, India’s Modi met him to discuss the progress of Chabahar port. The two country heads met along the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly session, currently underway in New York. India halted all orders for Iranian oil after May 2, after U.S. sanctions kicked in last November.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, today, conferred the Prime Minister of India with the Global Goalkeeper Award for his government’s actions on sanitation, involving the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Receiving the award, the Prime Minister said, “This honour is not mine but of the crores of Indians who not only fulfilled the Swachh Bharat dream but also made it a part of their daily lives,”.

Natural Gas distribution firm, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) has taken piped gas connections to more than 2 lakh homes in India, Chairman Gajendra Singh told shareholders on Monday. Singh added that the firm has expanded its CNG network to 500 stations by establishing 54 new outlets in 2018-19. IGL is now aiming at the consolidation of its position in current areas and ventures into new geographical locations.

In his address to the United Nations Climate Action Summit yesterday, Prime Minister Modi emphasized on taking action on climate change issues, rather than talking. The PM announced about increasing India’s renewable energy capacity to much beyond 175 GW by 2022, and later till 450 GW. He also added that the country is working towards increasing the proportion of the biofuel blend in petrol and diesel.

Petronet's board disapproved $2.5-bn US LNG deal in April-May, revealed the board post a formal agreement between India and US. This decision was taken looking at the changing global gas market dynamics. According to the officials, currently, the deal with Tellurian is "far from closed and will require negotiations". The word in the market is that the deal will only go through if the government would push for it.

Following the biggest-ever attack on its oil installations, Saudi Arabia has assured of its commitment towards India's energy security needs. India and Saudi's relations have been flourishing over the last few years because of healthy energy ties. "We look forward to India's continued partnership. Saudi Arabia has valued India as a close friend and a strategic partner", said the Saudi Ambassador.

The Ministry of External Affairs, yesterday, said that Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with executives of energy sector giants remained ‘fruitful’. The Ministry informed that the meeting focused on collaboration for energy security and developing opportunities of mutual investment between India and the United States. The Prime Minister of India is on a week-long to the United States.

The Foreign Ministry of India, yesterday, informed about a meeting of Prime Minister Modi with executives of BP and Exxon, scheduled for next week in the United States. The Prime Minister will also meet executives from JP Morgan & Chase, Lockheed Martin, Walmart and Mastercard in a separate event. Attacks on Saudi facilities have pushed India to look at raising oil imports from Russia.